


Sweet Like Black Licorice

by Your_New_Friend_Autumn



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Blindness, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23520130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Your_New_Friend_Autumn/pseuds/Your_New_Friend_Autumn
Summary: This fanfiction takes place in Little Homeschool and will showcase the classes and student life of the school which the show skipped over.In Beach City, there stands a settlement known as Little Homeschool where all wayward gems are invited to find themselves and find their direction in life. As soon as Autumn (they/them) found out such a place existed they instantly wanted to enroll. For the last few years Autumn was lost. Hoping for direction. They hoped this school would be the direction they needed. They also hoped they would get answers to what it meant to be a half-gem-half-human and what their gem side could do.This fanfic will feature AUTUMN, ZEBRA JASPER, ANGEL AURA QUARTZ, BIXBITE, GARNET, PEARL, AMETHYST, BISMUTH, ORANGE SPODUMENE, and CHERRY QUARTZ as the primary cast!
Relationships: Autumn and Zebra Jasper, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Meet Autumn, The Half Gem

It hadn’t been very long since Autumn had learned about Little Homeschool. They had heard about it from their friend, Orange Spodumene. It was apparently a new school for wayward gems from across the universe. Set up by this half-gem savior of the galaxy, Steven Universe. It was supposed to be Steven Universe’s legacy following the end of the tyranny of the Great Diamond Authority. For Autumn, it seemed like a good place to start. 

Packing up their things wasn’t tough for them. They lived on their own in a small apartment close to the shore of Ocean Town. They had lived this way for the last two years ever since...maybe let’s not get into that just yet. Anyway, Autumn managed to stuff what little they had into their cherry red sedan and sighed in relief. For the last few years, Autumn had lived a life of confusion with no clear direction. With each new door, a long forgotten door swung open and often sucked them backwards. It was hard for them to focus forwards. 

For the first time in their life, they had decided to finally take the steps to go forward. Looking at the apartment complex they knew it would be the last time they would ever see it again. The last time they would see the crumbling bricks and delipidated wood accents. Deep inside, Autumn felt like they were sad to see it go, but it was tinged with the excitement of what awaited them in the new city. 

Hopping into their car, they turned the ignition. Right away the CD player came to life. A bit too loud at first making Autumn flinch and turn it down. As they backed up onto the road and shifted into drive, the CD switched songs. It was a new CD from an untitled band. The band had the lead singer of Sadie Killer and the Suspects - a band they really loved. The song was called ‘Looking Forward’ it was a nice track to play as Autumn took off down the one road leading out of Ocean Town. 

It was getting close to dusk as Autumn saw the giant billboard that said ‘Welcome to Beach City’ appear over the horizon. A smile spread across their face at the sight. A large beach-side city lay before them with a giant hill topped with a lighthouse. In the setting sun everything glimmered, even the ocean water. It was like a scene out of a cheesy coming-of-age movie. Where the main character grows up and moves to a new town where they find happiness. Autumn liked that thought, maybe this was their town where happiness could be found. 

Rolling through the mainstreet of Beach City they saw humans and gems alike walking the sidewalks of the peaceful town. It was a surprising sight for Autumn. Until now, they had only known one other gem: Orange Spodumene. Even then, they only knew them as an online friend who they would video chat with. 

Autumn glanced down at their beige sweatshirt. The shirt had the ‘Crying Breakfast Friends’ logo on it. They have been a bit of a fan since they were a kid. Underneath their shirt was their golden orange gem. Located right on their chest where their heart was. It was bequeathed to them by their mother, Padparadscha. Their whole life, they had been self-conscious of it. It made them feel ostracized from those around them. Because of the shiny gem in their chest, they weren't a real human being. At least, that’s what Autumn always told themselves. 

Turning the corner they passed a beautiful boardwalk full of brightly colored shops and lots of people. At the end of the warped salty boards, there was a brightly lit amusement park trademarked by it’s tell-tale ferris wheel sticking up over everything else. 

Just beyond it, over the hills was the bustling settlement of Little Homeschool. A large brick wall encircled multicolored geometrically-shaped buildings. In the center was a large tower with a rotating dragonfly-wing-like antenna that could connect to planets across the universe. It was used for broadcasting Steven Universe’s message for all gems lacking direction to come to the school. 

Autumn sure fit the bill. They hadn’t had any true direction all their life. A glimmer of hope suddenly came alight in their heart as they recalled the video Orange Spodumene sent to them. It was the message Steven Universe made. He looked so friendly and inviting. He made it seem like Autumn really could find some direction if they came to Little Homeschool. 

It was enough to make Autumn step a little too hard on the gas pedal. In the rear-view mirror they saw, with a sudden shock of panic, red and blue lights. 

Suddenly their hands were shaking. Not just their hands, but their whole body. They looked out their car window to see a police woman approaching their car that they had quickly pulled over. They were on the outer-city road leading to Little Homeschool now. Surrounding them was a few homes and lots of fields.

They rolled down the window to see a lapis lazuli bend down to their eye-line. 

“Excuse me but, were you aware you were going 18 mph over the speed limit?”

Autumn went to speak but panic gripped their throat in a stranglehold. They could feel all the energy zapped from their body. A mild buzzing became apparent in their ears. They had to get out of there. They had to leave. That’s all they could think about. 

“Were you?” the office asked again, more firm this time. They shifted on their feet. The badge on their chest reflecting the setting sun. On it read the words ‘Delmarva State Police’. 

“U-uh” they stuttered, “no officer”

“Where are you heading?” 

They could do nothing but point ahead with a violently shaking finger to Little Homeschool. 

“Oh!” the officer said with a more friendly tone, “you’re a gem huh?”

“Uhhh yeah, I-I’m a half p-p-padparadscha”

“Oh wow! An off-color! You’re a rare breed. Even more so if you’re half human from what I can see”

“T-thanks”

“You know I studied there myself. That Steven Universe kid really is something to have made the school -he’s a half-gem too if you didn’t know- I didn’t even know what I was going to do with my life until I went to Little Homeschool”

“R-really?”

“Yeah totally, I remember taking Professor Amethyst’s class about doing what you want and suddenly it clicked for me. I could be anything I wanted to do. I found out about the state police about a year ago. They liked my attitude so it wasn’t hard for me to get on the force”

Autumn didn’t respond, they simply stared in awe at this powerful woman before them. Their hair poked out from under their police cap and shifted slightly in the wind. 

“Look, since you are just arriving, I won’t give you a ticket or anything. Just promise to keep this car under the speed limit until you leave Beach City, okay? I’m only doing this because I wouldn’t want someone like me to spoil the first day of Little Homeschool for someone else. Consider it a favor from one gem to another” the officer said. They smiled kindly and waved goodbye, returning to their police car. A few seconds passed and the lapis lazuli pulled off the side of the road and left. 

Autumn was left once again by themselves. They became aware of their breathing. It was forceful and weak. The air burned in their lungs. They looked at their hands. They were vibrating aggressively. 

Take a deep breath and hold it for four seconds. Then let it out your mouth. This was the thought that came through Autumn’s mind. 

They could hardly concentrate. The buzzing in their ears was growing louder and louder. It seemed to block out any rational thoughts. 

I can’t breathe. 

Tears started to find their way to their eyes. They were unshed, nestled in their eyes like a depressed person might curl up into a big comforter and never leave. A hand found their way to their throat. Autumn could feel the struggling gasping of air. Their other hand went to their hair. Gripping a tight handful of locks and pulling sharply. 

Calm down. 

The buzzing was deafening in their ears. They could hear nothing else. With such little air their head grew light. 

I’m gonna pass out. 

The hand that was placed against their throat went for the door handle. It popped open and a monotonous tune started to chime from the dashboard. 

They placed a hand against the side of the car and another on their chest. Hunched over they desperately gulped in the fresh country air. The breeze blowing through their hair gently. It was mildly calming. 

Take a deep breath and hold it for four seconds. Then let it out your mouth. The thought once again appeared in their mind. This time they listened, sucking in a deep breath of air and holding it in. As they released, the breath was shaking. They repeated the same process. As they kept doing this, they could feel their muscles finally relax. 

Slowly the buzzing in their ears softened and faded. They took a look around and saw the golden sun shining off the field of grass. Crickets soon filled their ears and the sounds of distant birds chirping. They took a -now steady- hand and felt their cheek. It was wet. They took their sweater sleeve and wiped their face. 

Oh my stars Autumn, really?! You have to do this now? They are expecting you at Little Homeschool. Hurry up. 

With weak feet, Autumn returned to their car. 

As Autumn’s car approached the giant archway they saw several other cars parked along the road. A giant banner was sprawled out along the archway. It read, ‘Welcome New Students!’ It was a nice touch. Autumn parked their car in the little inside parking lot reserved for students and looked around. This is it. It was time to begin a new chapter of their life.


	2. Welcome to Little Homeschool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Little Homeschool, gems and humans attend classes in harmony. As the purpose suggestions, Autumn felt welcomes as soon as they entered the school. Deep inside them, they knew this was the perfect place to be. 
> 
> In this chapter, Autumn meets their new dorm mates and discovers that they may already have a leg-up on their fellow students.

Adjusting to Little Homeschool was hard at first. Everything is written in gem glyph and the signs are a bit confusing. It took Autumn a solid ten minutes to find the Welcome Center. 

It was late in the day so as Autumn approached the building, they immediately noticed that there wasn’t a line up like they expected. The doors swished open as they approached and the scent of oranges and flowers filled their nose. 

The Welcome Center was a large open lobby with several leather chairs and plants lining the walls. Five large skylights met into a star on the triangular ceiling. Standing by a large desk was a tall skinny woman in a blue jacket. She turned around and immediately smiled. 

“Welcome to Little Homeschool!” she squealed. 

Autumn walked through the lobby. Their shoes squeaked on the tile as they did so. In awe they looked around. Lush flowers mixed with the stone walls that made up the center. Their eyes went to the skylight. Pink cotton candy clouds floated above them. 

“Thank you” Autumn responded as they approached the gem. 

“What’s your name?”

“Oh uh, my name’s Autumn” 

“And your gem?”

“I’m half padparadscha”

The gem clasped their hands together and a huge smile spread across their face. 

“Ohhh! A half-gem! Just like Steven!”

The gem quickly grabbed Autumn's hand, holding it gently. 

“You must have so many questions about who you are -just like Steven did at first. Oh, but don’t worry, you’ll learn everything here!”

Autumn didn’t really know how to respond. Being on their own for so long, this gem holding their hand was something really new. It felt warm and kind. 

After a second too long they replied, “yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. After my mom gave me her gem and it was just my dad and I- well, I dunno, I never really learned much about gems or who I was”

The gem’s face turned into a slight frown. 

“Oh Autumn I’m sorry that you had to experience that. Don’t worry, we’ll help you learn about yourself to the best of our capabilities!” In the last few words her tone turned more firm and determined. 

The gem turned around and grabbed a clipboard off the desk. She also nodded to a large red gem that was standing behind the desk, leaning against the wall. 

The gem turned back to Autumn. 

“My name is Pearl. It’s a pleasure to meet you Autumn” she said as she looked down at the clipboard, “it says here you signed up for residence. Oh good! We have two beautiful residences. You’ll be in the Peridot Commemorative Dormitory.” She motioned to the large red gem, “Cherry Quartz here will take you to your dorm. I hope you don’t mind roommates. You have three. It’s a communal room”

“T-that’s fine, honestly. I don’t mind”

“Wonderful!” Pearl squealed once again, “okay, you can pick your classes tomorrow. For now, just focus on getting settled in”

“Okay, thank you,” Autumn said, sincerely. 

The dorm room was located down a long hall of colorful doors and brightly lit windows. Inside the room there were four cubby beds built like bunk beds you would see in a Japanese school. Autumn was familiar with the layout from anime they had watched back in highschool. They were all built towards the door and at the far end of the room was an open space near a large window. A few small chairs were placed in this space and several plants were neatly resting on the window sill behind them. 

The curtains were drawn on one bed as Autumn first noticed. Next they noticed the two hulking Gem Soldiers sitting in two of the three chairs placed in the small common space. They were laughing. One was a beautiful cataclysmic explosion of bright colors. Blues, yellows, and blues highlighted their body and face. They were stunning. The other sitting across from them was seated slightly away from Autumn’s view so that they could only see their hair cascading down the back of the chair like a silky waterfall. 

The Cherry Quartz placed a hand on Autumn's shoulder causing them to flinch. 

“Welcome to your new dorm. I’ll be going now. Enjoy unpacking” Cherry said in a monotonous voice. 

“Yeah thank you, see you later” Autumn replied cheerfully. Wait...cheerfully?

Autumn felt a growing warmth in their chest just around the outer edges of their gem. The emotion was familiar but somewhat distant. Like a nostalgic breeze in the air. Something they used to know but couldn’t quite pinpoint its origins. 

Stepping forward they pulled along their luggage carrier. They noticed a little sticky note over each bed. They approached one of the lower bunks to the immediate right of the door. The note was addressed to a Zebra Jasper. 

Looking up they once again noted the bunk with the drawn curtains. A sticky note was placed on the side frame of the bed to the right of the curtains. It was addressed to someone else. 

Turning to the left they checked the lower left bunk. They smiled when they read the sticky note, 

TO AUTUMN, 

Welcome to Little Homeschool! This is your bunk for the semester. You’ll find it has some drawers underneath that you can use for clothing and other items you bought with you. I hope you get settled in easily. 

From,  
PEARL  
STUDENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR

They looked within the bunk. It was a simple bed with a small light stuck to the side of the wall where your feet would go. It was all Autumn needed. 

They pulled their luggage carrier closer to the bed. 

This is it. Time to start again. This time in a good way. 

They knelt down as another laugh came from the common space. Pulling open one of the drawers they felt it stop with a loud pop.

In the span of a split second, the room became ghost-quiet. The air once filled with laughter and rough voices was suddenly filled with the distant sound of music coming from the hall and a shout from outside the window. 

Autumn looked over as they heard two chairs slide backwards on the wood floor. The two gems stood up. Autumn looked away and plucked a shirt from their luggage carrier. Holding it tightly in their hands. 

“Hey there!” they heard from behind them. 

They turned to see the large multicolored Quartz leaning against the frame of the bed just a foot and a half away. One hand dangled to their side while the other was held by the other Jasper gem standing just behind them. Their towering figures blocked the sunlight coming from behind them. 

“Uh, hello” Autumn said, feeling their lip twitch. 

The multicolored Quartz held out their free hand and with a gigantic smile said, “you must be Autumn! I’m Angel Aura Quartz, but you can call me Angel.” Their voice was rough but surprisingly high pitched for their size. 

Autumn held their hand up and took Angel’s. Their grasp was firm, but not painful as they shook it. 

“Did I do it right? I’m still learning how humans do things.” Angel said nervously. 

“Yeah, you did great,” Autumn replied. 

The other Jasper gem was next to speak. They had an air of mystery to them since they stood in the shadow caused by the withdrawn curtain of the adjacent bunk bed. Their body was adorned with zebra stripes that shined slightly in the fluorescent light above the entryway to the room. 

“You’re a human?” Her voice was soft as she spoke. It had an air of uncertainty as if she believed Angel could have been messing with her. 

“Yeah, I’m half human on my dad’s side”

“Wow! That’s so exciting! I’ve only met one other human” the zebra-striped Jasper exclaimed. 

“We’re both excited to know more about you. Maybe you can teach us some things about Earth so we do better in class” Angel added. 

“I’d be happy to answer any question you have”

“Great!” Angel said as she grabbed Autumn’s hand. With a light tug Autumn was on their feet and was being pulled into the common space. 

“R-right now?” 

“Yeah, we want to know everything!”

Angel held onto Autumn until they were in the common space, letting go and continuing to walk over to a chair with the zebra-striped Jasper, when they reached the chair to the right of the large window, Angel made a little sound and striped Jasper sat. 

Angel walked over to the chair left of the window and sat down with a certain heaviness that made the chair groan in response. 

Autumn took the chair across from the two looking directly out the window. Through the glass they could see the rolling hills and grass just beyond the tops of the buildings of Little Homeschool. 

“Okay, what do you want to know first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your support. If you have any suggestions or thoughts, please leave a comment! I'd love to read it.


	3. And They Were Roomates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Autumn finds their Quartz and Jasper roommates are a bit more curious than they had originally thought. Still, Autumn finds themselves unexpectedly enjoying their company. Maybe a little too much for one of them.

Angel scooted her chair a little closer as she said “first I wanna know what it’s like to breathe”

“Uh, well it’s something I do without really thinking about it. Basically we draw in the air around us and it expands our lungs” Autumn did with an exaggerated deep breath. 

Angel squealed at the sight, “wow! What does it feel like?”

“It’s relaxing if you do it slowly, but it can also get really fast if-” Autumn stopped. 

“If what?” the zebra-striped Jasper asked. 

“If you get nervous or scared” Autumn said with less enthusiasm. 

“Oh so your breathing reacts to your emotions? Kind of like how our muscles tense?”

“Yeah exactly” Autumn blurted out, “now you’re getting it”

The zebra-striped quartz laughed. Angel suddenly perked up, sitting up straight and with a quick voice she said, “Oh gosh I haven’t introduced you to my friend here” The striped Jasper smiled when she heard that. 

“Autumn, this is Zebra,” Angel said, stretching an arm out towards Zebra to show her off. 

“Hey there, it’s nice meeting you” Autumn said, holding out a hand. Zebra didn’t react to the hand, instead smiling wide and saying, “it’s nice to meet you too!”

This is when Autumn pieced together that something was a little off about Zebra. They titled their head to get the dusk sunlight out of their eyes and noticed a white stick was propped against Zebra’s chair. 

“Zebra here was uncorrupted at the same time as me. We’ve been together since. In fact, we figured out we fought in some of the same battles when we still fought for the Great Diamond Authority”

“That sound...lovely?” Autumn offered. 

“Yeah, it was a good time,” Angel chuckled, slapping a hand on Zebra’s shoulder. Zebra smiled. 

Zebra shifted awkwardly in her chair. A feeling of dread growing in their heart. Angel was being confident as usual -taking over much of the conversation- so maybe it would be best to wait to ask Autumn what was on Zebra’s mind.

“Oh I have another question! Why do you humans eat?”

“Again, I’m not fully human, just half” Autumn interjected. 

“Right, why do you eat then?”

“Well...when I eat it tastes good. Putting food in my mouth makes me happy because each type of food has a different taste -or sensation if that makes sense- so it’s often something I do to make myself happy. It’s also something humans -or half humans in my case- need. Without it we don’t have the energy to do things we want to do and if we go too long without it...we die”

Angel’s smile wavered off slightly. Her voice was quieter. 

“How do you know when you need to eat?”

“I usually feel this gurgling in my stomach. It feels like vibrations. It can also make a sound if you’re hungry enough. Kind of like a growl. It’s our body’s way of saying we need some more energy”

“That sounds so weird!” Zebra said laughing, “does it hurt?”

“No not at all!” Autumn said with a clear look of surprise on their face. 

Zebra grinned. Moving forward in their chair they asked, “I got one for you. What’s the worst part of being half human?”

Autumn blinked. Worst part?

“I guess the worst part about being human is needing to sleep all the time”

“Really? Bixbite said it was nice” Zebra said.

“Who’s Bixbite?” Autumn asked, plainly. 

Angel pointed to the bed with the curtains drawn. “Bixbite’s in there taking a nap. She’s really cool. I think you’ll like her”

“Oh okay” Autumn said, eyes focused on the curtains. 

The sun had long disappeared past the hills by the time Angel mentioned Bixbite. Lights from distant Beach City could be seen on the horizon through the window. 

“Okay how about this one, what do you think is the weirdest part of having a human body?”

By now Autumn had relaxed. It was clear that the Quartz and the Jasper meant them no harm. They could feel themselves sink into the seat a little easier. A smile had appeared on their face too. 

“Probably having to cut your hair. It’s weird to me because if you don’t cut it, it will just keep growing. I can’t imagine how humans centuries ago dealt with that”

“Speaking of that, can I touch your hair?” Angel said eyeing Autumn’s mass of curly brown hair. 

Autumn hesitated. It was a question that was asked a lot when they were a kid. They had grown annoyed with people constantly wanting to know what curly hair had felt like. For Angel, their curiosity seemed more genuine than the students in Autumn’s memory. Leaning forward, Autumn offers their head. 

They felt Angel’s large hand dive into their locks and lightly shake around. Contrary to their annoyance with the subject, Autumn liked having their hair touched. As Angel explored the mass of their curls, a shiver ran down Autumn’s spine. 

“Wow! It feels so strange. Nothing like gem hair! It feels fuzzy!” Angel explained, excitement practically dripping from her words. “Zebra you gotta feel this too” Angel said before quickly adding, “Only if Autumn’s okay with that though”

“Yeah go ahead” Autumn said with a strained voice. Their neck was getting tired. 

Angel withdrew her hand and a second later a hand slapped the side of their face making Autumn flinch. A spike of panic injected itself into Autumn. 

“Oh sorry!” Zebra shouted. 

“It’s okay, j-just be more careful”

The hand returned -this time on top of Autumn’s head. Their touch was much softer than Angels and had an air of academic curiosity to it. Zebra pulled a curl up and squished it between her index finger and thumb. Thumbing the hair around to get a better idea of the texture. 

“Your hair is beautiful,” Zebra said breathlessly. 

Autumn felt their heart skip a beat.

“W-what?”

“Your hair. It’s amazing. It’s so soft” Zebra said again, softly. Enamored by the act of touching Autumn’s unique locks. 

“O-Oh thank you” Autumn could feel their face getting hot. 

Angel leaned in closer, seeing the discoloration on Autumn’s face. “Are you okay? You’re turning a different color”

Autumn sprung up, knocking Zebra’s hand off their head. Autumn drew their hands up to their face, hiding their blush behind the shade of their palms. 

“Yeah it’s just something humans do”

“Oh it’s a human thing” Angel repeated back, thoughtfully. “Why?”

“Sometimes when we get embarrassed, it happens. It’s called blushing”

Angel slapped her knee. “Oh right, gems do that too. It’s just never red!”

Zebra turned her head to Angel, “It’s red?”

Angel nodded her head and said, “yeah. Like ruby ships” Angel said before turning to Autumn and adding, “It doesn’t happen to gems often, but it’s usually green or blue”

Angel then aimlessly looked out the window at the dark sky. It was about 8 PM now. She stood quickly. 

“Zebra, we had plans to get some fresh air before we went to sleep,” Angel said, putting emphasis on the word ‘sleep’. 

“Right! Want to join us, Autumn?”

“Sure, where are we going?”  
“You’ll see!” said Angel excitedly.

Zebra stood up, grabbing the stick next to their chair. From behind the hair that covered their face they blinked out of habit. 

Angel started to walk away towards her bed bunk. “I’m just going to find a flashlight in my bag before we head out”

While Angel was gone, Autumn and Zebra stood silently in the common space. Their heads both turned and focused on Angel’s bunk where the noise of zippers and clothing being tossed around emitted out with such fury it surprised Autumn that Bixbite could sleep through it. 

“Um Autumn?” Zebra asked, turning to them. From this angle, Zebra was a full two feet taller than them. Towering over them, Autumn could feel their nerves twist into a tight knot. 

“Yeah what’s up Zebra?”

Zebra bent down slightly, getting closer to Autumn’s eye line. They extended their hands slightly from their spot close to their chest. The stick they held in their grip pushed slightly closer to Autumn. 

“I’m sorry to have waited so long to ask this but” Zebra hesitated. Their mouth scrunched up and they shifted their weight onto one foot, “If you didn’t figure it out yet, I can’t see. That’s why I need this” Zebra said, shaking the stick slightly. 

“Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t catch that,” Autumn said with a sensation of a new, unfamiliar sadness. 

“No it’s okay” Zebra laughed. “It’s just, would you mind if I touch your face? It’s so I can understand what you look like”

Autumn was looking up at this hulking gem before them and their eyes quickly darted to their large muscular hands. 

“O-okay just be careful”

“I will” Zebra said softly, “can you hold this?”

Autumn took the stick from her, holding it in their right hand. They pinched their eyes shut and waited with baited breath as they saw the shadow of Zebra shift behind their eyelids. 

Two large paw-like hands cupped the sides of Autumn's face. Her hands were gentle, resting softly on Autumn’s cheeks. As they moved their hands around, studying Autumn’s face, Autumn noted how warm her hands were. It was comforting to them and they could feel themselves relax. 

“Am I being too rough?” Zebra asked nervously. 

“No! Not at all, you’re being really gentle actually”

“Good,” Zebra said with a smile that was only seen by Angel who had returned from their bunk. 

Autumn waited patiently as Zebra’s hands found Autumn’s ears. 

“Oh oops!” Zebra squeaked, “I didn’t mean to go that far back.” They dropped their hands and gently tapped the hand holding the stick. 

Autumn opened their eyes and let go of Zebra’s stick. 

“Autumn” Angel laughed, “You’re turning red again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading once again! I hope you're enjoying Autumn's story so far. Within the next two chapters, Little Homeschool classes will start. For now, a nighttime adventure is in order for the new roommates. 
> 
> Feel free to comment and bookmark!!


	4. The Stars in Our Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nighttime trip to the residence roof brings the three roommates under the stars of Beach City. What conversation is shared between them turns in a different direction than Autumn first thought.

"Are you sure we're allowed to go up here?" Autumn said nervously eyeing the ground below. 

"Oh yeah, me and Zebra used to come up here all the time last semester. At least, until winter came in," Angel said confidently, slapping Autumn's back a little too hard. 

The three were ascending a metal staircase attached to the side of the residence. It was supposed to be for a fire escape but the roommates were using it to get to the roof. The wind blew silently past Autumn's ears and as they looked out over the dimly lit campus, they noticed that they were the only ones out. The other students were all likely unpacking their belongings or getting to know their dorm neighbors. Autumn had come late in the day so they had missed several of the welcome events. All that remained was a welcome ceremony tomorrow morning. This meant that it wouldn't make any sense regardless of how you framed it for someone to be out at this hour. 

Autumn gazed up at Zebra who was surprisingly taking the lead up the stairs. Angel was behind Autumn. It seemed that Zebra had taken these stairs many times in the past. It made Autumn realize, with a self-loathing guilt, that they had immediately viewed Zebra as someone who is helpless without sight. They made a mental note to not let that happen again. 

On the roof there was nothing but a layer of gravel and a few pieces of air circulation equipment stacked in the middle of the flat space. Along the edges of the roof was a small wall no taller than your mid-calf. Angel took the lead and motioned with a waving hand for Autumn to follow them to the edge of the roof. As Autumn neared Angel, they noticed them take off their backpack and pull a thin blanket out. With a swift motion they shook it out and let it glide down onto the gravel. Quickly they smoothed out the edges and took a seat. Autumn was hesitant to sit down until Zebra joined Angel. There was a small space left in the middle of the blanket. Zebra smiled in the direction of Autumn and patted the spot with their hand. The blanket responded with light puffs of air and the crackle of static from the friction. 

Autumn carefully squeezed in the middle of the two and looked first to Zebra. In the dark, they could hardly see them. Their white skin standing out against the moonlight. Angel pushed something towards Autumn that knocked into their arm. 

"Do ya like hummus?" Angel asked in a whisper. 

Autumn's face lit up in excitement. Grabbing the plastic container from her they gasped. "I love this stuff! It's like my favorite snacking dip ever."

A snicker could be heard from Zebra as they placed their hand on the container. Autumn let go as they took it from their hands. A second later, a bag landed in Autumn's hand. 

"Open this will you? It's to dip in the hummus."

Opening up the bag the smell of wheat and flour filled their nose. Inside were ten pitas. Autumn looked over excitedly at Angel who fished the last thing from her bag: a bottle filled with a dark liquid. 

"What's that?" Autumn asked, eyeing the sloshing sickly-colored beverage. Their eyes were wide in anticipation. Fear over the contents bubbled inside their stomach. 

"Soda" Angel answered plainly, "something humans drink because they like the bubbles. I just drink it because I like the sugar."

"O-oh" Autumn said, feeling their muscles loosen. Thank goodness it wasn't booze. 

As they feasted over the small snack that Angel had brought with her from home, they began talking. Their voices nearly whispers in the wind out of fear of getting caught.

"Hey can I ask a question?" Autumn began. Angel's curiosity peaked at this. The whole day they had been the one answering questions. She didn't know what this tiny human could want to know or if they knew how to answer it. 

"Go for it," Zebra said, beating Angel to a response. 

"So I'm half gem, as you guys know. I don't know much about what it's like being a gem so I was wondering if maybe you guys could tell me a bit about it? Like how are gems made or just- anything really?" 

"Well. I can answer that first question" Angel offered, "we gems were originally made by the Great Diamond Authority. Using what they call injectors, they would bore holes into a planet's surface and inject crystalline bio-essence deep into the planet's core. Incubating for a year, we'd emerge from the earth and immediately be assigned to our purpose. As a Quartz, I was originally intended for conquering planets for the Diamonds"

Zebra spoke in addition, "Yeah all gems are born in what they call a Kindergarten where the injectors were used. Mine was in the Bioda colony."

Angel agreed with a nod as she said, “mine was in the Nannatme colony”

Autumn was in awe at the idea that these gems were just that, gems. Just like the rocks found on Earth they were made the same way. Except in the case of the gems, they were made for some big empire of even more powerful gems. 

"What is it like being a gem?" Autumn said before immediately regretting the vagueness of it. 

Zebra was quick to respond, having expected such a question from their half-human roommate since the moment she knew Autumn was half-human. "Being a gem was a life of programming. We came out of the Earth already knowing our life's purpose. We were happy with that. As a Zebra Jasper I was used for fighting. I loved fighting, but deep down I knew it was something wrong. Still, I couldn't disobey my Diamond and risk being shattered. Our life knows only work and praise. If we work, we get to convince ourselves that we are happy in doing so. After 17,000 years and two eras, I still hardly knew why we were doing it. Why we were fighting to establish colonies across the galaxy. There was no sense to it. Only when I was uncorrupted last semester by Steven Universe, did my life change. Suddenly I was told I could be anything I wanted. Of course -being blind- that was harder for me than for my fellow uncorrupted gems, but suddenly I found myself on a new planet surrounded by so many new things. It was incredible. For the first time in my life, I felt a new emotion that wasn’t just fear. I felt happy."

Autumn looked to Zebra as she finished her answer and saw a tear drop fall from behind her hair. A shaky smile spread across her face. 

Continuing, Zebra added, "you're lucky Autumn. You've been able to experience this planet since you were made. You didn't have to spend eons waiting for freedom. You should really be thankful for that."

Autumn felt something catch in their throat. They went to speak, but nothing escaped from their lips. They felt their chin tremble and their vision blurred. They had never been told something like that. After years of feeling bad about their life, what Zebra had insisted was out of their immediate sympathetic understanding. Instead, they felt overwhelmingly guilty for not being thankful for the opportunity they had been given. Here was Zebra, a victim of countless wars finally getting to experience what Autumn had ignored all their life. 

Angel placed a hand on Autumn’s back. Looking up at Angel they could see in the moonlight a look of confusion mixed with mild panic on her face. 

“What’s wrong Autumn, your breathing is fast.”

“U-u-uh yeah just give me a second.”

“Do you need something?”

“No. N-no I’m fine, really. It’s just what Zebra said kinda got to me.”

Unexpectedly, Autumn felt two strong arms wrap around them from their right side. Autumn could feel Zebra give them a rough squeeze. 

“It’s okay Autumn! I shouldn’t have gotten so sad on you!” Zebra said with a light playful tone. Autumn could only gasp in response. Zebra made a wordless noise of confusion before letting them go. 

Autumn took in a big gulp of air before saying with a strained voice, “thanks Zebra, just next time don’t hug so tightly. I couldn’t breathe.”

“Oh sorry” Zebra said, scratching their neck, “sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” On the last word, Zebra was interrupted by a cell phone ringing inside Angel’s backpack. Angel was quick to dive into the pack; pulling free a small grey flip phone. Standing up they walked away to take the call. 

“I still don’t know how those things work. Pearl tried to teach me, but it didn’t make much sense” Zebra scoffed. 

“I wouldn’t mind trying to teach you sometime,” Autumn said quietly. Zebra didn’t answer. Perhaps she didn’t hear them. 

Angel returned shortly after with an announcement. “Bixbite needs help. She’s locked out of the room. You guys can relax a little longer, and when you’re ready I’ll meet you back in the room.”

“Okay, see you later!” Autumn said. Zebra simply nodded. 

“If Zebra needs any help, I trust you’ll try your best,” Angel said, looking directly at Autumn. Autumn instinctively straightened their back and shook their head in agreement. 

Angel quickly shuffled off the roof, banging the tip of her foot on the metal stairs. A loud ding rang out alongside a muffled grunt. 

Suddenly it was just Autumn and Zebra in the inky blackness of the autumn night. The air was brisk, but not cold enough to make either of them shiver. Zebra sighed and moved to lay on her back. Autumn joined them. A question was itching at their brain but they were too nervous to ask. 

Laying on the roof, the stars took over Autumn’s vision. They were bright in the sky, shining like a million gems. Autumn’s hand instinctively went to their gem. Feeling it’s hard edges through the sweater fabric reminded them of why they were here. Tomorrow’s classes would answer so many questions that their roommates couldn’t. Looking to the future, they felt that familiar spark of hope ignite once again in their heart. 

The stars continued to twinkle above them. Breaking free from their thoughts on tomorrow, Autumn realized they don’t remember the last time they saw the stars in the sky. Taking a guess, they thought it might have been the night before the accident that landed Autumn’s father in the hospital. They shook their head to clear their mind of the thought. 

“Hey Autumn?” Zebra suddenly asked, “you know you’re the first gem I’ve met that didn’t ask me a bunch of questions about my disability.”

“Oh yeah. Well, I mean I do have questions, but I don’t want to bug you with them.”

“It’s no worry. Please, ask whatever you want. You’re free to talk around me.”

Autumn smiled as they looked over at Zebra. Her head was aimed to the sky. Hair covered half of her face leaving only her nose and mouth to show any sign of emotion. The faintest trace of a smile could be seen. 

“Well. I have two questions. First, how long have you been blind? Second, does it make you feel bad?”

Zebra thought for a moment. They were questions that she’d been asked countless times. Strangely, this time felt different. 

“It was a result of my corruption. When Steven Universe uncorrupted me, it was the first thing I noticed. I could only hear him, I couldn’t see him. I lifted the hair from my face to see if it would help but I was terrified to find out that I really couldn’t see anything. When Steven figured this out, he offered to heal my vision. I refused him at first because I was so overwhelmed. I had just been brought back after centuries of being corrupted. He understood and assisted me any way he could in the following week. At the end of the week, he asked me again if I wanted to be healed” Zebra paused and sighed with sorrow, “the poor kid didn’t know how to react when I told him I didn’t need healing. I was perfectly happy the way I was.”

Autumn tried to scan Zebra’s face for any spirit of emotion. There was none to see. 

“You see, to Steven, he thought that he hadn’t finished the job on me. I wasn’t fully healed in his mind. I told him once again that there were so many ways to experience the Earth and I liked my ways of experiencing it. I didn’t need my sight. I found touching, smelling, and tasting things around me to be more...rewarding.”

Autumn spoke in a hushed tone as if they were afraid Zebra would suddenly be upset when they said, “so you could have been healed but you choose not to?”

“Exactly” Zebra said, “so to answer your second question - no it doesn’t make me sad” 

“Really? You didn’t miss seeing anything?”

“Well...there is one thing I do miss seeing”

“What’s that?”

“Tell me Autumn, what does the sky look like?”

Autumn felt their chest muscles flinch in surprise. They looked once again up to the sky. 

“Well it’s empty right now, I guess. It’s quiet like a hushed voice and still like a frozen statue. There are stars mixed in with the darkness. Bright little balls of light that cast a glow on the surrounding ink. Just above us is the moon. A great big circle of light. On its surface, it looks rough like carpet. The glow coming off it is similar to the sun. You may remember seeing a sun during your time as a soldier. It’s like a sun, but blue tinted and with an overwhelming sense of calming energy”

“Wow” Zebra said slowly, “Autumn that was beautiful. It’s like I can see it”

Autumn smiled a sort of sorrow-filled smile. Their eyebrows furrowed before they reminded themselves that Zebra wasn’t as helpless as they had originally thought. She was happy like this. Feeling bad for her wasn’t fair to her. 

“Hey Autumn, I never got to say this to you before Angel took us away to come up on the roof” Zebra began, “when you let me touch your face...I was surprised. You’re so beautiful. I had no idea a human could be that pretty”

Autumn's eyes shot open from their pinched together state. Looking over at Zebra they could feel their face exploding with heat. They giggled in embarrassment. “You’re just saying that aren’t you?” Autumn asked, hoping Zebra was joking. 

Zebra’s hand slowly shifted over the blanket until it found Autumn’s. Gently grasping it, Zebra giggled back. Autumn’s heart began to race. The warm feeling in their face suddenly nestled it’s way behind their ribs. 

“I mean it, Autumn. Why would I lie to you?” Zebra asked through a smile. 

“I don’t know, it's just no one has ever said that to me before” Autumn said, feeling their hand squeezed slightly by the large Zebra Jasper’s grasp. 

“That’s surprising to me. Maybe I’ll have to remind you of it more often” Zebra said, shifting themselves to sit up. Giggling, she said, “We should get back to the room though. The last thing we want is to be late to our first day of classes. I know how much you humans need sleep”

Autumn snapped out of their fluttery head space. Zebra was pulling Autumn to their feet. She let Autumn’s hand go and started picking up the blanket. 

Autumn didn’t say it out loud, but they secretly wished Zebra didn’t let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being so patient in waiting for the new chapter! Stay tuned for Chapter Five: Do You Have Class? which will be released Wednesday or Friday of this week. In this chapter Autumn tours the new classes at Little Homeschool and starts their educational journey.


	5. Do You Got Class?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Autumn and their roommates start their first day of Little Homeschool classes. During this chapter, we meet the professors of the school and get introduced to the classes they teach.

“Autumn! For the love of stars can you wake up already!” A voice broke through the heaviness of sleep. Autumn’s eyes flashed open. Through their fuzzy vision they saw a sliver of sunlight breaking through their bunk’s curtains. They pushed back their duvet and pulled their tank top down to meet their shorts.

“You’re gonna be late! We’re all heading to breakfast in ten minutes!” Zebra shouted from a bunk over. Sounds of shuffling and talking became alive in Autumn’s perception. They reached for their phone next to their pillow and checked the time. The screen flashed white before showing ‘7:35’.

Swinging their legs through the curtains, Autumn pushed the fabric back. Sunlight shone directly into their eyes from the common space window. Blinking against it, they looked around. Zebra was the only person in the room at the time. Autumn could swear that the voice that woke them up wasn’t Zebra’s.

Zebra was walking over to the chair next to the window. Sitting down they lifted their face directly in the light of the sun. They were wearing their normal clothes -if it was clothes and not just their body. It made Autumn more aware of the fact that they were in their pajamas.

“Good morning, you’re finally up”

“Uh yeah, thanks for waking me up. My alarm didn’t go off”

“Don’t thank me, you can thank Bixbite for that. The rest of us tried, but it didn’t work”

Autumn giggled and placed their feet on the floor. It was cold to the touch. Reaching into the luggage carrier placed next to their bed they pulled free a pair of ripped jeans, a black t-shirt, a towel, and their puffy brown jacket. The jacket was similar in style to a varsity jacket without the tell-tale stripes.

Not wanting to waste time, they immediately ran off to the bathroom to quickly shower. The bathroom was right across the hallway from their dorm. It was time to start the first day of the rest of their year.

“Bixbite hurry up!” Angel yelled at the drawn curtains of Bixbite’s bed. A groan was the only response from deep within. Autumn stood next to Angel, a messenger bag nestled in the crook of their arm. Taking advantage of the free second, they put it on properly.

Bixbite emerged from the bunk and leaped down, already positioned towards the door. The other three were anxiously waiting to leave. Angel had her phone out looking over the school announcements sent to her email. The breakfast half hour began in five minutes. Following that was the opening ceremony where the professors would introduce themselves and the classes they teach. It was expected of the students to write down which classes they wanted to take before going on a class demo tour. During this tour they would get a small sample of what the class would be like.

“Alright team let's go!” Bixbite said with a little bit of raspiness in her voice. Her voice was on the higher side and sounded almost like music to Autumn’s ears. Bixbite clapped her hand against her claw and the four left the room.

The hallway was full of gems coming from their dorm rooms to head to the cafeteria. Zebra was standing next to Angel, holding her hand. That left Bixbite and Autumn to their right. Bixbite quickly turned to Autumn, eager to introduce themself.

“Hey sorry I missed you yesterday, I’m Bixbite. It’s nice to meet you” Bixbite said. Her pitch raised on the last few words. She seemed incredibly friendly. Not at all what Autumn expected from someone who had a giant claw for a hand.

Instinctively, Autumn reached a hand out to shake Bixbite’s hand. Her hand was intending to meet with a giant claw. Autumn could feel themself gulping harder than usual. Their hand hovered in the air as Bixbite hesitantly moved their claw closer. Autumn retracted their hand quickly at this point and mumbled an apology. Bixbite giggled in response. Bixbite could sense the awkwardness of the situation, but they didn’t mind. In fact, Bixbite had experienced this several times before with multiple humans they had met since being uncorrupted.

Autumn was quick to find out that gems don’t really eat. It’s not exactly in their nature. Some gems were even fully opposed to it, finding the whole process uncomfortable. For the humans attending the school, eating was a necessity and their gem friends often came along for fun. Unlike most of the gems at the school, Autumn and their roommates were fond of food. Piling up a bunch of it on each of their trays.

Bixbite liked to take the canned juice from everyone and crush it between their claws. The sound resembled that of a key scrapping the side of a car. Autumn enjoyed watching her do it though. It was fascinating to see how much strength was in her claw.

When a monotonous bell sounded in the cafeteria, all the students gathered up their trays and belongings and prepared to head to the auditorium for the Little Homeschool Opening Ceremony.

Students filed into a grandiose auditorium filled with red cushioned seats, stone pillars on the walls and red curtains hung between the pillars. The auditorium was slanted downwards and had a massive wooden stage at the far end. Flags of Little Homeschool were hung on large stands surrounding a podium. Chairs were placed in front of these flags where a large cast of gems were currently sitting eagerly waiting for their turn at the podium.

When the last of the students filled the seats, the warm orange lights dimmed, making the stage easier to focus on. Zebra huffed as they sat down next to Autumn.

“Is everything alright, Zebra?” Autumn whisper.

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s just, things like these are less interesting for me.”

“Because you can’t see it?”

“No I just would rather start classes.”

Autumn was quick to change the subject. “You know, speaking of. When did you start classes last year? I’ve been thinking about it, and it doesn’t make sense for you to be in first year if you attended last year.”

“Oh! Me and Angel got uncorrupted halfway through last year. We were allowed to attend second semester but we knew we’d still have to do our first year when it started up. It gave us some time to adjust to human life.”

“Oh that makes sense. So when you-” Autumn was interrupted by the sound of a loud shrill of a microphone. Turning their attention to the stage they saw a boy step up the podium.

A boy, no older than sixteen stood behind the wooden podium carved with the school’s seal. The podium covered most of his torso from sight, so only his shoulders and head could be seen. He donned a bright pink varsity jacket that accented his black shirt underneath. Autumn was quick to notice his large afro. A feeling of happiness warmed their heart when they saw him. Thinking of their own hair, they pushed their fingers through their locks. Autumn hardly saw many other people with afros and each time it made them feel a little better about having curly hair.

“Good Morning students” the boy said with a noticeably fake cheerful voice, “my name’s Steven Universe, founder of Little Homeschool. I don’t work here anymore but I wanted to come to the Opening Ceremony to welcome all of you. You are about to start an amazing journey learning about being whoever you want to be and learning about Earth. Little Homeschool will teach you everything you need to know about humans and the new era. Maybe if you like it here enough, you can even learn to live on Earth with humans too. It’s all up to you. This is your future and you decide it. Sitting beside me-” he motioned to the gems next to him, “-are your new professors. They are here to guide you in becoming the best gem or human possible. These gems are my friends and I trust that they will be yours too at the end of your year. Feel free to ask them any questions. I know they want to help you so much. I’ll let these gems speak now-” Steven said, stepping slightly to the side- “once again, welcome to Little Homeschool. I really hope you enjoy your year.” With that, Steven stepped off the stage and walked toward the curtain. A girl dressed in a skirt and white short-sleeve blouse poked through the curtains. She smiled and grabbed Steven’s hand as they both disappeared behind the stage’s back curtain.

Autumn found themselves smiling, truly believing in the words of Steven Universe that this would be the time to learn about themselves and choose the life they wanted to live. It was a heartwarming thought. A thought filled with hope for the future.

The first gem to stand at the podium was a purple-colored gem. Her head could barely be seen over the podium. In a voice hardly heard, the tallest gem whisper-shouted, “Amethyst, stretch your legs.” The gem instantly grew taller right before Autumn’s amazed eyes.

“Hey everyone!” The gem said in a nonchalant tone that reminded Autumn of a skater from the 90s, “my name’s Amethyst but you can all call me Professor Amethyst. I teach what I call liberty classes. These classes are all about finding the true you. I teach How to Decide Things For Yourself 101, G.H.E.M, Free Will, and Earth Careers. Oh! I also teach Human Anatomy and Baseball intramurals. Anyways, that’s it. Thanks for listening.” Amethyst turned to go sit down as another, equally short gem went to the podium.

This gem was completely green and had a visor covering their eyes. Unlike Amethyst, they were unable to stretch so they had to stand on their tip toes just to reach the mic. Because of this, their already high pitched voice was even more strained.

“Good morning gems and humans, I am the wonderful Peridot. As a fellow gem, I too was in your place. New to Earth. Confused. Scared. Not to worry. I will teach you all about the scary Earth environment and foliage. My classes are Horticulture, Environmental Science, Physics, and Gem Technology in Era 3. I hope to see you on my attendance sheet tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Short and sweet, Autumn thought to themselves, they liked Peridot for that.

Standing tall, the next gem walked to the podium. The podium was tiny compared to her. The top of it rests at the gem’s stomach. The gem was a mix of red, blue, and purple with another large, but square afro. Autumn had another feeling they would like this gem too.

“Hello students. I am Garnet. I see a lot of potential in all of your futures. After all, I do have future vision” they said as they adjusted their sunglasses. Autumn’s face broke into a large goofy grin. Sitting closer to the edge of the seat, they felt a growing fondness for Garnet.

“As some of you can tell, I am a gem like no other. A fusion of a sapphire and a ruby. Combined in perfect harmony to become the gem standing in front of you today. A harmony like that is difficult to achieve but everyone of you gems and humans can find it in your future -or current- partner. I teach a class on Fusion here at the school that I recommend every gem attend so that they don’t make any mistakes in the process like forcing someone to fuse with them. I don’t think any of you will, but it’s good to understand. I also teach Yoga as a physical exercise class, Meditation for the Mind, How to Love, and lastly, How to Accept Your New Life. Enjoy the rest of the ceremony.”

The next gem to take Garnet’s place was a large gem. Dressed in shining silver armor. When she spoke, her voice was rough but filled with natural joy that instantly made Autumn want to take her classes.

“Good morning~” the gem said with a sing-song tone, puffing their chest out. “My name is Bismuth. Some of you may know me as one of the Homeworld’s builder gems. While I was made for that purpose -and we encourage you to find what speaks to you- I find my joy still lies in building things for Little Homeworld and the Crystal Gems. I teach construction technology classes like Workshop, Construction, and Metalwork. I even have my own shop here on campus. I encourage all of you hands-on gems to attend my classes and learn how to make anything your heart could ever dream of,” Bismuth said, putting heavy emphasis on the word ‘dream’, “I want to see the things you gems and humans can come up with. You all have the potential to craft a piece of metal into something brand new and extraordinary. If you do well, you may even get a chance to win a hand crafted award. Made by me. I hope to see you all at my shop tomorrow. Take care, and have try to have fun during your stay here”

Bismuth walked off the stage, their armour clinking as it moved. The next gem to stand up was one Autumn was already familiar with. Pearl stood from her chair and adjusted her jacket. Walking to the podium, her hands swayed with an elegant grace. She approached the mic and cleared her throat.

“Good morning! I am so happy to see you all here to experience Steven’s dream. He -and myself- will be so proud of what you all become. I met all of you yesterday and you all seem like such lovely gems and humans. I can’t wait for the year to begin. As for what I teach, I teach an Introduction to Human Technology where we discuss what kind of tech is used by humans as opposed to gems. I also teach Culinary Arts -although I don’t like to eat myself. Additionally, I do volleyball intramurals on the beach for those of you who like to be active! Aside from my classes, I am the school’s guidance expert. If you ever need help or want to talk, please reach out to me or Garnet. She’s the second guidance expert. Have a wonderful day students!”

The last gem to approach the stage was completely blue from head to toe. Even their eyes were blue. Their hair swayed despite there being little air movement in the auditorium.

“Hey everyone, my name’s Lapis. I teach sculpturing here at the school. If you're a gem who’s used to being destructive, you should try being constructive with me as an art student. On days Vidalia is not available for her meep-morp classes, I sub as the art teacher. Lastly, I teach an Intro to Film. If you like TV, maybe you should sign up. Thanks for listening.” Lapis said as they left the podium. Their voice was calm but had a hint of excitement in it.

The last person to stand up was a human. They were middle-aged and had blond hair gelled into the shape of what looked like an onion.

As they approached the podium, Autumn could see a cue card in their shaky hands.

“Hello students, my name’s Vidalia. I’m the only human professor here at the school, but don’t let that scare you off. I teach the meep-morp class where you will learn how to express yourself through art. Each of you has a creative mind begging to be let out. If you nurture it and practice using it, you’ll get in touch with a different side of yourself you didn’t know was there. Consider taking my class if you want to discover that creative side. Thank you!”

Pearl returned to the podium after Vidalia. She instructed all of the gems and humans to write down their classes and consult the board outside the auditorium to see when and where each class demo would be taking place.

Autumn looked at their notebook. They had written down eight classes to try out. Suddenly, they were excited. Looking to the friends around them, they saw the similar light of eagerness in their eyes. Even back in public school, Autumn had always cherished the feeling of excitement and wonder that could always be found on the first day.

As the students stood up from their seats, Autumn stretched. Zebra accidentally bumped into Autumn as they did so.

“Oh sorry” Zebra said quickly.

“It’s okay” Autumn reassured before asking, “are you excited for the class demos?”

“You bet. I’m looking forward to Bismuth’s classes. Being hands-on is what I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your patience and support. This week, as a thank you for waiting, a special Sunday short chapter will be released.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Your_New_Friend_Autumn


	6. Gem Technology, For Beginners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Autumn and Ora attend their first class: Gem Technology. Additionally, Peridot, the eager professor, is excited to teach students about warp pads and how they work.
> 
> Check the notes at the end for the link to the new Tumblr ask blog!

As the class demos passed and so did the rest of the day, Autumn found themselves on the second day of school, eager to start class. Packing up a colorful notepad, a dictionary, and a few pens they threw their messenger bag over their shoulder and got ready to head out of their dorm room. It was just after breakfast and Zebra’s class didn’t begin for another half an hour. She was sitting by the window. Her head was tilted up to the sun, letting it shine on her face.

“You really like to sit by the window. Is there a reason?” Autumn asked, tying their shoes before they left.

“I like feeling the warmth from the sun. It’s...comforting” Zebra said, not taking her face away from the window.

“Yeah the sun does feel really nice.”

“Just like a hand on your cheek. It’s a wonderful feeling,” Zebra agreed. “What class are you headed to?”

“I have gem technology first and then lunch. I want to know more about what kind of tools gems use” Autumn said, switching from their right shoe to their left. Slowly tying them up to give them more time to talk.

“Oh, how lovely. I can’t wait for you to learn about gem drills. I used to operate those.”

“You worked in construction?”

“Demolition.”

Autumn laughed. “You seem so kind, I can’t imagine you working in something as chaotic as demolition.”

“It wasn’t really my choice,” Zebra said with a sigh, “I was assigned to it. Same as all the other gems who worked for the Diamonds.”

“O-oh right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I hold any kind of grudge or anything” Zebra said with a reassuring tone.

“Really? None at all? After all those years stuck in servitude?”

“Not really. You gotta understand, Autumn, to a gem that’s immortal, years don’t really mean a lot. It’s what’s in those years that means anything. Sure I worked my butt off for the Diamonds during those centuries of service, but I met so many amazing gems that I still hold dear to my heart. Especially Angel. She’s the best gem I could ask for as a friend.”

“Awww that’s so sweet, Zebra!”

Zebra blushed. “S-stop it Autumn. It’s just how I feel. Nothing special.”

“Are you kidding? I didn’t know you were such a softy,” Autumn said with a playful shout.

“Don’t you have a class you need to go to?” Zebra said, trying to change the subject.

“Nice deflect. Yeah, you’re right. I should get going though. I’ll see you later Zebra”

“Later, Autumn!”

Walking out of the residence quarters of the Peridot Commemorative Dormitory, Autumn found themselves in a small outdoor courtyard. It was circular in shape surrounded by trees and sharp-edged buildings. In the courtyard were a few benches surrounding a giant golden outline of a star. It was the main courtyard of Little Homeschool and as to be expected it was packed with gems and humans hanging out before their first class. There were a few gems Autumn recognized like Cherry Quartz, Biggs Quartz, and Nephrite. They were all chatting at one bench together. There were plenty of humans Autumn hadn’t met who were on the other side of the courtyard at a few benches. It seemed odd that they had split to different sides of the courtyard.

Thinking nothing of it, Autumn walked passed the courtyard and down a small break in the buildings big enough for two people. It leads into another smaller open area with a fountain. The fountain was surrounded by small buildings each painted vibrantly.

The buildings were all labelled as the science section of Little Homeschool. Two of the buildings were used for Amethyst’s classes and two others were used by Peridot. The ones for Peridot were colored in two different shades of green. Going in the same fashion, Amethyst’s buildings were painted purple. Peridot’s buildings were triangle shaped with plenty of windows on the roof and in the front of the buildings. Approaching the one closest to them, Autumn pulled free from their bag a book on Gem Glyph to translate what it said.

Sliding a finger from one glyph to the next, Autumn finally figured out that the sign above the  
sliding door said, ‘Peridot Institute of Technology.’ How modest.

Walking through the sliding doors, Autumn could immediately smell a stench of chemicals and cleaners. The hallway leading into the triangular building was lined with odd geometric shapes and strangely hung fabrics. A plaque above it read in Gem Glyph, ‘meep-morps.’

Continuing through the hallway they entered the main lobby. It was triangular in shape as well with three halls leading off from the hub. In the hub, two gems were on opposite sides. One was leaning against the wall with their eyes closed humming a tune and the other was sitting reading.

The one who was reading looked up as Autumn entered.

“Autumn is that you?!”

Autumn’s face burst into a massive smile as they rushed over to the gem and immediately hugged them. Squeezing them in their arms Autumn squealed, “Ora! Finally I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Autumn let Orange Spodumene drop to the ground. The hug felt squishy since her body felt similar to a water bed. Still, despite the unusual sensation, Autumn had to hug her. Until now, Autumn and Orange Spodumene -or Ora as Autumn calls her- had been internet friends. This was the first time they had ever seen each other in person.

“Woah you’re so much taller in person” Autumn said looking up at Ora’s face. Their hair was bobbing over their face looking similar to thick jello. Just below their hair, Autumn could see the bottom of Ora’s single eye. Ora smiled, her sharp teeth catching Autumn by surprise. Taking on a dramatic pose, Ora answered, “yeah I’m a little taller than most gems. I thought you’d be taller too. Didn’t think you’d be this short.”

Ora bent down and booped Autumn’s nose playfully. “You’re like a little baby!”

“Don’t call me a baby,” Autumn said, mockingly angry.

“Just a little bab. A tiny baby” Ora said into Autumn’s face.

Autumn faked a sniff. “Are you bullying me? Really? When we first meet?”

Ora suddenly jerked back, her smile vanishing, “Oh no! I’m so sorry! I was only joking!”

Embarrassed, Autumn was quick to hold their hands up and shake them dismissively. “No, no I was joking too.”

“Oh whew. You got me nervous for a second there” Ora said before smiling again with a small squeal, “oh Autumn, it’s so good to finally have you here!”

Ora grabbed Autumn’s shoulders and Autumn let out a little giggle, tilting their head to the floor.

“I know you’re just going to love it here. What’s your first class?”

“Gem tech.”

“No. Way. Me too! Come on, class is about to start. Let’s sit together,” Ora said, taking Autumn's hand and leading them into the first hallway on the right.

“Oh okay!” Autumn managed to say as they approached the door to the first class.

The door was already open and many other colorful gems were sitting in their desks. Peridot, from the opening ceremony, was standing at the front of the room putting several things onto a counter that faced the students.

Ora led Autumn over to two seats in the middle of the classroom. This was just as Peridot closed the door and started class.

“Good morning students! I’m glad to see you all here on this beautiful day. I am your new professor, Peridot. I am a gem technician and certified kindergartener and I’ve worked with most of the gem tech from Era 1 and 2. So if you have any questions about what we discuss, raise your hand and I will answer.”

Peridot pulled a clipboard from a drawer in the counter and started roll call. When it was finished, Peridot drew our attention to a model of a crystal circle that was in the center of the counter.

“Our first lesson is on the gem technology known as warp pads. They are used by gems and humans alike, but can only be activated by gems. They were instrumental in the colonial empire of the Great Diamond Authority and today are used primarily for peaceful travel throughout the universe.”

Peridot extended a pointer that looked similar to a stick. Using the end of the stick as a guide, she pointed to the base of the warp pad.

“This is a model of an Era 2 warp pad. It’s not functional, but it is based off of the Homeworld warp pad in the middle of Little Homeschool,” Peridot said as she looked up at the class. With a strained know-it-all voice Peridot said, “I’m sure you’ve all seen a warp pad before.”

The class all murmured different kinds of agreements. Autumn had seen a warp pad when they first arrived at Little Homeschool but didn’t know what it was.

“Well to explain how this piece of gem technology works, I will be using Earth physics. Hopefully this will make it easier for the few humans in our class. According to this very intelligent human named Einstein, the universe is made up of a changeable interstellar mass called space. According to his theory of relativity, the fabric -or mass- of space can be changed by the objects around it. Even ripping it and being repaired. If the theory is correct, wormholes are considered possible when these rips in the fabric create traversable holes. This is a very basic theory that started the human understanding of extra-material gateways. It should be mentioned that this theory is based on the Earth concept called math and is not really what gems use.”

Peridot held her hands up and made a pair of air quotations when she said math.

“Then humans developed string theory. When it was first conceived, humans thought that when the universe began in the Great Explosion, quantum fluctuations ripped holes in the fabric of space. When this happened, strings -called cosmic strings- were webbed through them. When the universe expanded within the faction of a second, the ends of the two connecting holes were scattered across the universe. Now I know this sounds ridiculous, but keep in mind, humans have only lived on one planet and only know about space through observation. Anyway, they say that the strings keep the wormholes from collapsing into black holes. While this isn’t actually possible, it does show that the humans weren’t far off from what gem wormholes really are.”

Peridot turned around to the board behind her and began drawing out illustrations.

“When the universe began and the Diamonds were formed, they were the ones who made the warp pads possible. You see, warp pads are a trans-space travel system using diamond-made wormholes that cut through spacetime. In order for these channels to remain open, the Diamonds invented the warp pad’s form. The crystal is actually condensed matter called cystalia. Humans would refer to it as exotic matter. Crystalia is a physics defying semi-stable material that -if condensed- can be used to connect two points of a wormhole. When a gem activates a warp pad, their gem is actually destabilizing the crystalia and causing the wormhole to connect with the physical crystal. This allows the channel to open up and suck in whatever is on the warp pad. This leads to travel that is faster than the speed of light and can transport anything that is contained inside the channel.”

“Any questions, class?” Peridot asked, turning from the board to face a sea of blank-faced students. “I see you are all learning very quickly! Excellent.”

“As some of you may know, gem warp pads come in two types. Blue and green. Blue warp pads are the most common warp pads in the universe. They are shaped about 4m in circumference and 16 inches in width. They are the go-to for gem transportation. Green pads were used primarily for larger gems such as the Diamonds. They are uncommon and can usually be found in Homeworld’s palace and primary planets of former colonies. After the Vangerva Incident that occurred 4000 years ago -where a Holy Blue was shattered by mistake while using the green pads- they have been shut down. Since then, the Diamonds use their ships to get around.”

“Any questions on that?”

Again more blank stairs greeted Peridot’s eager eyes.

“Hmm. Maybe it’s best if we started with something a little easier,” Peridot said, pulling open a cupboard within the counter. Bending down she picked up something heavy. With a groan she half-threw-half slammed down a robot-looking thing onto the counter. It was on four legs and looked like it was made of glass.

“This, students, is a flask robonoid” Peridot said proudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for reading!


	7. A Dream Of A Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late one night, a car travels home from Bayview Township to Tellerville -just 28 miles from Beach City. It's raining heavily and the moon is hardly seen through the dark clouds as the car makes it's journey along the highway.
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: MATURE SUBJECT MATTER. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO MATURE CONTENT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Sunday Release
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for the next chapter that will drop soon. The posting schedule has been dropped in favor of producing better quality content. I find I write my best work when I'm not pressured for a deadline. That's why Chapters 3, 5, and 7 were all better than the others. I want to write when the inspiration is right and my writing skills aren't being rushed. This is why I have opted to post at irregular times from here on out. I will still be posting two chapters a week, they will just be on different days.

“Good evening folks you’re listening to 87.2 FM, Tellerville News Radio. Tonight’s top story: firefighters who put out the flames that consumed Ocean Town last year have now been awarded medals by the mayor for their heroic actions. Many of the firefighters from the Ocean Town Fire Department have remained on active duty as the town begins repairs. The Chief of the department, Ryan Smitley, has gone on the record saying that in his 40 years of firefighting, he’s never seen a fire as vicious and fast-moving as the one that destroyed Ocean Town’s many homes and busin-”

The dial shifted.

“-Beach City electoral rights are being questioned by the residents. Many find that it’s unreasonable to only have Mayor Dewey run in the mayoral race. Resident business owner, Kofi Pizza, has stated that in order for a mayoral election to make sense, ‘you have to have more than one person. What’s the point if it’s just Mayor Dewey?’ It is unclear if this issue will be resolved. Anyway, that was our last news story for the night. Please enjoy some free flowing jazz as the moon begins to rise over Beach County.”

The car's tires skidded along Interstate 8 as a light-sounding jazz song filled the interior of the car.

Thunder roared in the distance and rain pelted the car. The windshield wipers were on their maximum speed, desperately trying to keep the monsoon-like water off the glass. Peering through the rain, the driver could hardly see three meters in front of the car.

The dial was turned again.

“- Beach City Beachapalooza is nearing and many Beach County residents are excited for the concerts, amusement park events, and boardwalk fare. This event is considered one of the most important tourist attractions for the small city and Mayor Dewey is hoping for at least a thousand guests. Unlike the last three years of Beachapaloza’s history, Mayor Dewey has partnered with Tellerville to bring in seven food trucks to the beach-side event in hopes of attracting the foodie crowd. The list of food trucks has not yet been released, but it can be expected in the next few days-”

The road turned from grassy hills to a forest as the car began to near Tellerville. The radio crackled with a mysterious static. The headlights of the car cast shadows behind the downpour of rain. Obscuring the vision of the sign ahead.

“The weather is looking bad out there folks as Hurricane Verona gets closer to Delmarva. I’m sure all of you have heard the warnings from the state police. Stay indoors, only go out if you need to, and make sure that you drive carefully-”

The car rounded a bend and slid. Washing away a deep pool of mud. The sign the driver had missed was a sharp turn warning. Barely keeping the car on four wheels, the car skated through the waterlogged grove of the turn leading into the small settlement of Farris Groove.

Farris Grove was a small pit stop just before Tellerville located 28 miles from Beach City. The driver -as he regained control- passed by the distinctive landmark of the small settlement: the Farris Grove gas station, the Gas And Get Going. The large lit sign standing high above the gas station cast a faint glow through the heavy shower. The driver could make out the misshapen form of three G’s. The lights in the station were dark showing that -like most of the businesses- the gas station was closed for the day.

“-now for the Dream Hour, brought to you by Yummy Apple Juice -the apple juice that surprises! I’m your host, Harold Smiley. Many of you have been calling in and leaving notes at the studio that you’re scared of the hurricane that’s coming. Don’t be. It’s a part of nature. Nature was designed to keep us alive as long as we respect it. Don’t go out disrespecting it by being outside. Stay indoors, listen to me, and allow me to talk to you in your calm dreamful slumber. Tonight’s topic is time. Time will make all dreams wash away. It’s the constant of life. Don’t be sad if your dream doesn’t come true. That’s just time doing it’s job-”

The trees flew past the car as the window blew heavily against the left side of the vehicle. The driver could feel the force of the gust pushing the car slightly to the right. The driver reached for the radio dial and turned it off so they could focus more on the road.

In the silence, all the driver could hear was the water splashing against the undercarriage of the car from the tires and the pitter-patter of rain hitting the windows. The rain started coming down harder forcing the driver to slow down as they approached a zig-zagging road. It was a hilly pass that snaked through adjacent to a river. Being up high on the road you could normally see for miles across the county’s lush fields and rivers.

As the car neared another dip in the road, the driver's mind was occupied by thoughts of their child. They had just taken them to a baseball game the other night. They played for the Beach County Sparrows. The driver was so proud of them. At the game, as the driver talked about the incoming hurricane with the other parents and how empty the grocery stores were, they had missed their kid score their first hit. The baseball had soared into right field giving the kid just enough time to make it to second base. Thinking about how they had missed it, the driver’s mouth scrunched up.

When the car hit the dip, the driver’s eyes shot open. They had failed to notice the huge puddle in the center of the depression, causing water to shoot up on both sides of the car. The car began to quickly slide back and forth as the tires desperately tried to gain traction on the wet roads.

The driver was suddenly caught in an eternal slow motion film. Dragging their body through the motions of the script-less act. Unable to move, they simply gripped the steering wheel and watched as the car began careening towards the guardrail. In the few seconds of the car sliding, fear started clawing at the driver’s chest. Ripping back the flesh around the ribcage, viciously -and with an animalistic hunger- scraping into the cavity until it reached his heart. A scream was let out, but with no audience other than the rain to capture the plea of a horrified man, the call for help went unanswered.

Water sprayed against the headlights when the tires made a 70 degree turn towards the right direction. Catching another heavy patch of water, the car once again slid back towards the opposite side of the road like a back and forth game that was entirely based on chance. A 50% victory, in a sense.

The back-end of the car was the first to hit the guardrail, smashing through it with surprising ease. The side of the car came to meet the guardrail, taking down a large section of the metal bar just before the car became weightless.

In the moment of falling, the driver’s fear was gone. Accepting the fate that awaited them as they fell front-first into the oblivion of the hill's rocks. The portal to the next life or to a life of pain. The result was something that the driver was unable to choose despite how hard he wished he could.

Like all things in life, everything washes away at one point. As did the tire tracks that lead to the car now residing as a twisted ball of metal and carnage at the bottom of the cliff. The only evidence of the journey over the edge was the broken railing.

It was late at night when there was a knock on the door, making a child jump in their sleep. Looking up from the coach with sleepy eyes they realized that they had left the television on as they slept. A cartoon was playing although they didn’t recognize it. Looking to the door that was just steps away from the living room they had drifted off in, they heard another knock. This time the knocking was more urgent.

Standing up on weak feet, the kid walked over to the door. Opening it slowly, they first noticed that the lush summer grass of the front law was now illuminated by the harsh red and blue lights of a police car. The lights broke through the darkness, reflecting off of two figures.

Two men, dressed in state police uniforms stood over the kid. Both of them held their police caps in their hands, resting it at their stomach. Their uniforms were soaked having been in the heavy rain and red and blue lights from the parked car shined in the droplets of water.

The man on the right looked down, avoiding eye contact with the kid. His fingers gripping the brim of his cap in a white-kunckled grasp. The man on the left cleared his throat. Brushing his beard with his fingers, he started to speak.

“Excuse me, would your name happen to be Autumn?”

The kid nodded in response. Not daring to say a word. Their hand that was at first resting on the edge of the door now dropped to their side.

“We are so sorry to tell you this, but your father has been in a car accident.”


	8. The Midnight Gospel of a Hurting Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zebra and Bixbite awake to the sounds of crying. Who could it be?

Zebra and Bixbite both awoke to the sound of a shrill scream coming from the bunks below them. Hastily squirming out of their bed, they both approached the curtains of Autumn’s bunk. 

Using their claw, Bixbite pulled back the fabric. In the darkness of the room, Zebra and Bixbite could see the shaking figure of Autumn curled up under a fluffy blanket. From under the covers, Zebra and Bixbite could hear gasping breath and choked sobbing. Zebra placed a hand on Autumn’s shoulder and Autumn violently flinched, pushing their body back against the wall. The covers fell from Autumn’s head and the two friends could see in the darkness of the room, a pink stain covering their face and rivers of tears that went from their eyes to their chin. More alarming to Bixbite, Autumn’s wide eyes were filled with fear they had only seen in the face of Homeworld soldiers. 

“Autumn you need to calm down,” Zebra said, hearing the sobbing.

“W-what’s g-g-oing on?” Autumn barely managed to say. They had to fight to get any words out of their throat. Their breathing was rapid, causing their muscles in their neck to squeeze unbearably tight. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay. Just breathe. I think you’re having a panic attack. My friend Larissa has them. Try and breathe slowly,” Bixbite said, reaching for Autumn’s arm. 

“D-don’t touch me!” Autumns yelled, pushing their back harder against the wall. In the mix of darkness, panic, and confusion, Bixbite was mistaken for an enemy. 

“Autumn you don’t need to be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s get you to the common room okay?” Bixbite said in a gentle tone that surprised Zebra. Since Zebra had met Bixbite, she seemed to be more of the carefree type who cherishes parties over people. This was a whole new side of Bixbite. 

Zebra joined in too by saying, “it’s alright Autumn. We just want to help you.”

Autumn sniffed hard, trying to keep their nose from leaking. Their breathing was still quick and struggled. Feeling lightheaded, Autumn simply nodded and held out their head. Bixbite gently grasped it, pulling Autumn from their bunk. 

Zebra and Bixbite, both with a hand on their friend’s back, lead Autumn into the common room. It was midnight by now and the moon cast a dim blue glow over the inside of the room. Bixbite sat down on the floor, back to the wall. Autumn went to sit beside her, but Bixbite pulled them down so that they would sit in front of her. 

“Are you okay with a little touch?” Bixbite said as Autumn sat down. Autumn made a small peep that Bixbite took as a yes. Slowly lifting up the back of Autumn’s sweater, she let the fabric cascade over her arms. Using her hand, she started to rub circles into Autumn’s back. 

Autumn had never felt something like this before. The sensation of Bixbite pressing gently into their back was soothing. Almost immediately, Autumn could feel their back muscles start to untangle. 

Zebra sat down in front of Autumn so that she was directly in front of them. Zebra reached through the darkness until they felt Autumn’s hands. Taking them in her own, she gently applied pressure to Autumn’s palms. 

“Just breathe with me”

“I-I don’t k-know if I can,” Autumn said, coughing on their words. Tears were gushing from their eyes to the point where they could hardly make out the shape of Zebra’s form. Zebra delicately moved Autumn’s left hand, placing it over Zebra’s wrist. 

“Just squeeze okay? I learned this from my human friend, Alicia.” 

Autumn did as they were told. In their palm, they felt the beating of Zebra’s gem heart. From yesterday’s classes, Autumn learned that a gem could consciously create any organ a human could have. It was what made eating possible. They functioned similar, but not quite the same to humans. To Autumn, they felt no difference in the palm of their hand between a gem’s or a human’s heart beat. 

The beating was steady, unfelted by the situation. Feeling both the heartbeat and the circles rubbing into their back, Autumn began to relax quickly. Their sobs became smoother and less struggled. Air filled their lungs properly when their throat finally unclenched. 

“There we go. I can hear it. That’s it just relax,” Zebra said, taking her other hand and rubbing Autumn’s left hand. Autumn closed their eyes and started to concentrate on their own breathing. 

Meanwhile, Zebra sat in front of Autumn wondering how many times they had experienced something like this. Zebra had never encountered a human malfunctioning in this way before. Alicia was a student in therapy and had taught them many things about human malfunctions. Unfortunately, what Zebra had learned did not prepare her for this. So to her, the experience was altogether fascinating and scary -although Zebra was able to hide that quite well. 

Bixbite dutifully continued to rub circles into Autumn’s back. This wasn’t the first time they had seen a human have a panic attack. Like they told Autumn, their friend Larissa had them frequently and they learned that this was the easiest way to help them. At first, Bixbite thought Larissa was dying. Being alone on the beach at night, Bixbite tried to scream for help but soon figured out that no one could hear them. Larissa walked them through what to do when Bixbite herself calmed down enough to react to the situation. It was a whole fiasco that Bixbite would sometimes dream about. 

“O-okay. I think I’m better now” Autumn said, stuttering. They brought their sweater sleeves up and wiped their eyes. 

“How about you just lie down for a second, hon. You can tell us about it if you want” Bixbite said as she guided Autumn to lay down. Placing Autumn’s head on Bixbite’s thigh. Autumn could feel the heat from Bixbite. It was also very calming. 

“I-I don’t really know why this is happening. I...I was having a nightmare-”

“What’s that?” Zebra asked, innocently. 

“It’s like a dream that is scary. I’ve had them since I was a kid,” Autumn explained, “never this bad though.”

“Do you remember what the dream was about?” Zebra asked. 

At this, Autumn felt a tightening in their chest. Their eyes once again threatened to leak. 

“I-...it was about my father,” Autumn said, covering their mouth with their hand. 

“Is he okay?”

“No. He’s not.” Autumn whimpered, “he was in an accident three years ago.”

“Were you dreaming about the accident?” Zebra said cautiously. 

Autumn’s voice cracked as they answered, “No I wasn’t there. I was at home. In my dream, I opened up the front door and the cops were telling me- he- he was in an accident.” Autumn finished their sentence as another quiet sob was let out. Bixbite took her hand and started to stroke Autumn’s hair. 

“It’s okay let it out,” Bixbite whispered in a cooing voice, “that’s good. Just let it out.”

Zebra shifted uncomfortably on the floor. She wasn’t used to sad human emotions. It was something that was foreign to her. She was trying their best to understand though.

Autumn whimpered, pushing closer to Bixbite. With a heavy sob Autumn said, “I was asleep when it happened. Back then we lived in Tellerville.”

“Where’s that?” Zebra asked quietly. 

“It’s not far from here” Bixbite piped up. 

Autumn continued, “it was during a storm before Hurricane Verona hit the east coast. My dad was returning from his job as an auditor for a propane company. It was really coming down a-and -well. There’s this thing -you see” Autumn felt another wave of emotions overwhelm them. Bixbite’s hand went down to Autumn’s face and gently held her palm against their face. 

“His car hydroplaned. It’s where the wheels hit so much water on the road you lose control. He went off a cliff. It took three hours before the police were able to pull him out of the car. By then he wasn’t even awake” Autumn whined.

Autumn shifted on the floor. From the bunks they heard the sound of Angel shifting over in her sleep. 

“When the police came to my door, I couldn’t even think. They told me he was in an accident and was in the hospital. When they drove me there, I couldn’t bring myself to go into the room. It was too hard to hear about it let alone see it.”

“Oh my stars. Autumn I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how shocked you must have been or how helpless that felt.”

“Yeah it was so overwhelming.”

“Did anyone help you?”

“N-no. I was j-just standing in the hallway crying” Autumn said, shifting their focus from Zebra to the floor, “when the doctor came out he told me what had happened in s-such a cold voice.”

“Do you want to tell me what the doctor said?”

“He told me my dad suffered brain damage. Because of it, he would never be the same.” Autumn could feel a knot in the back of their throat as they said that. 

“Oh no. Autumn, that's so sad.”

“I know. Listen, I know it’s not true...but I just feel like if I was there with him I could have changed what happened. M-maybe he’d be okay. Maybe he wouldn’t still be in the hospital if I were there.”

Zebra sat up at this and said with a very stern, but loving voice, “Autumn don’t you dare say that. It was not your fault. You couldn’t have changed anything. Don’t blame yourself for what happened.”

Autumn could feel their chest tighten. 

“I-I’m sorry. I just...I want him to be okay and he’s not and it’s hard to even think about it.”

“I know, honey, I know. It’s okay. It’s okay to feel like this. That was a painful experience.” Zebra said, reciting with careful compassion the same words Alicia had taught her. 

Autumn let out a choked gasp in response. 

Zebra continued, “it was dangerous being out in weather like that. I’ve learned about hurricanes before. Your father would have been hurt regardless if you were there. I know that you can feel responsible for it, but don’t be. Okay?”

Autumn was covering their face with their hands. What Zebra was saying was true, but Autumn was having a hard time accepting it. 

“It was not your fault” Zebra said once again. 

“I-I know.”

“Okay. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s late, you’re probably really tired. You should just rest.”

“Y-yeah that sounds nice.”

“Rest on me!” Bixbite said with a cheerful tone. 

“Really?” Autumn said hesitantly. 

“Yeah! I don’t need sleep” Bixbite said, placing a hand on Zebra’s thigh as if to say ‘you did a good job, let me do the rest’. 

“I’ll sing you a song I heard at the boardwalk. I don’t know the words, but I’ll sing to you the melody. Would you like that?”

Autumn nodded their head and rested it once again against Bixbite’s hard-yet-warm shell. 

As Autumn stared out the window and the sky, Bixbite began singing a gentle tune. Zebra perked up when she heard it, recognizing it as well. She joined in as Bixbite neared a dip in the tune. 

Autumn smiled. Two gem girls serenading her was not what they had expected would happen when that familiar panic overwhelmed them. Normally, they would cry alone and wait for the attack to pass. 

As Autumn’s eyelids started to close from exhaustion, they thought to themselves that this was much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again, oh great fans! I love every one of you and I really appreciate your support. This fanfiction is once again resuming after an unwanted hiatus. I look forward to providing more content for you!
> 
> Take care and stay safe!
> 
> -your-new-friend-autumn


	9. The Angel Of Beach City (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of last night, the group decides to go to Beach City after school to blow off some steam and cheer Autumn up.

The bell rang as Garnet’s yoga class ended. From the courtyard, the sound was muffled, but in the stillness of the quiet yoga class, it was easily heard. Angel smiled at the sound. Despite her stocky frame, she had yet to build up the neck strength required for Garnet’s upside down core alignment. Garnet was in front of the class, seemingly balancing on her hair. It was another beautiful day in Beach City and the sun reflected off Garnet’s visor as she too smiled. 

The class consisted of equal parts humans and gems. Many of the humans wore what they called ‘workout’ clothing. Angel wasn’t sure what that was, but they were captivated by the human woman in front of them wearing a pair of ‘leggings’. 

“Class is now over. I hope you will remember my advice from today and use it well. I have to go. Have a good day” Garnet said, mechanically. 

The advice that Garnet was mentioning was a guide of sorts that Garnet made while they were doing different yoga positions. It was a guide to meeting ‘the one’. It was apparently more for the humans. Garnet mentioned that she now did couples counseling and this was the advice she always gave to her clients. Her advice was to find one that can see into your soul like no other. Someone that throws back the curtains of your personality and sees who you really are deep inside. According to Garnet, there are only a handful of people who can do that. Finding one of them is something of a mission. Once you find them, you will know. You’ll feel it in your heart. It will be still where it would be beating with anyone else. In their presence, you should feel comfort and love. If you feel afraid even after getting to know them, that is not ‘the one’. 

When Angel was listening she thought of Zebra but realized that she didn’t feel like Zebra could see into her ‘soul’ and she couldn’t see into Zebra’s. Perhaps she had yet to meet ‘the one’. Angel gently shook her head at the thought. She had thousands of years to find them, she was sure it would happen eventually. 

Angel watched as Garnet quickly hopped back onto her two feet. Many of the students tried to follow in her form, but wound up falling on their face. Angel just laughed and did it her own way. Trying not to accidentally fall onto one of her human classmates. They were awfully fragile. 

It was the end of the day for the students. Looking towards campus, Angel saw all the students spilling out of the academic buildings. Waiting where she stood she kept her eyes out for her roommates. They had made plans to go into Beach City today to have some fun. Autumn had been feeling down the night before -according to Bixbite- so this was mostly Angel’s idea. 

Walking out together, Zebra and Angel left Bismuth’s workshop. Autumn was wearing a t-shirt and shorts which was unusual for them. As they started walking towards Angel, Angel noticed that Autumn and Zebra were holding hands. Angel dismissed this as Autumn helping guide Zebra. 

“What’s with the new clothes?” Angel said as Autumn drew closer. 

“Well we’re going to the beach right? It’ll be too hot down there in a sweater and jeans. Besides, I could use a little tan.”

“What’s a tan?” 

“Oh! When humans go out in the sun for a while, our skin gets darker. It’s an evolution thing I think.”

Angel nodded in agreement. Angel was always impressed by human’s ability to change. They are adaptive soldiers. Angel squinted at the idea of fighting against them. 

“Where’s Bixbite?” Autumn asked. 

“Right here!” Bixbite shouted from behind them. They had a teal-colored crop top on that swayed in the light breeze. As she approached, everyone was eyeing it. 

“Do you guys like it? Larissa, my human friend, gave it to me. She told me it was for the beach!”

The shirt said ‘Hot Mama’ in purple and orange colors that mixed in the middle of each letter. 

“Uhhh haha. It’s really nice Bixy” Autumn said, tugging at their own shirt. 

“Thanks Autumn! So are we taking your car?”

“Oh yeah, it’s just parked over here” Autumn said pointing to a small parking lot near the entrance of the school. Squeezing all the gems into the car was a tough task. Angel and Zebra took the back seats and Bixbite took shotgun. Autumn could hear the car creak in response to the weight. 

“Oh I’m so excited!! We’re going to have so much fun!” Bixbite squealed. Angel and Zebra both cheered in response just as Autumn went to back the car up. 

Driving into Beach City, the city was alight with string lights and people walking up and down the sidewalks. Cars were parked along the roads and state police cars blocked off certain city blocks for events. It was the famous Beach City Beachapalooza. Word had reached Little Homeschool through the human students. As Angel looked out the window, she saw lots of gems. Some she didn’t even recognize. 

She saw kids laughing as their dads carried them on their shoulders. Some ran around with other kids, completely free and unattended. It was remarkable to see all the little humans. So many of them reminded her of the animals from Alpha Set 91’s Yureka Colony. They were completely wild, but were enraptured by happiness. 

The car made a turn and Angel’s eyelids quickly shot open. Reflecting off the glass, was the lights of the beach. In the distance the colorful explosion of Funland cast a small speck of red on the glass. 

Angel’s heart started to fill to the brim with excitement. She loved the feeling of the beach during the winter events. Beachapooloza was like the ultimate event and it was in the summertime too! 

“Okay we’re here! Are you guys ready??” Bixbite said, snapping her head back to look at the two in the back seat. Zebra smiled calmly, like always. Angel’s face broke into a large toothy grin. 

“I take that as a yes! Let’s go!” Bixbite said as she shot her finger to the sky like a gun marking the beginning of a race. 

The beach was filled with both citizens of Beach City and visitors from the nearby towns. It was the biggest event in the county and everyone and their dogs -quite literally- came. Most of the people were on the boardwalk enjoying the crispy fries from Boardwalk Fries or the golden, melty pizza from Fishstew Pizza. Street carts were being rolled along the warped boards of the walkways carrying cotton candy, popcorn, hotdogs, ice cream, and funnel cakes. Angel was instantly hooked by the atmosphere. The beach alone was like the Diamond’s big parties. Full of people, dancing, and music. Although, this dancing was much less formal. Out on the sand were people laying on blankets, shaded by umbrellas, teens dancing next to phones stuck in the sand, and kids running towards the ocean surf. A few racks of surfboards were set up just outside the Boardwalk Fries shop for those looking to catch Beach City’s non-existent waves. Despite the lack of waves, it didn’t stop a few teenagers from trying to look cool paddling along with their boards in the water. In the middle of the beach, next to the beach goers and rowdy teens drinking non-alcoholic beer and pretending to be drunk, was a crew of about six people setting up a stage. 

Walking towards the boardwalk, Angel noticed a piece of paper stapled to a phone pole. It was a poster for a band. The poster showed a cartoon-ish ghost holding a bloody knife. The words ‘A Ghastly Murder’ were written next to it and the band’s name ‘Sadie Killer and the Suspects’ were written in bright red dripping letters. At the bottom it said ‘Free Hometown Concert, Tonight Only at 8PM’. Angel didn’t pay much mind to it.

“Ya guys want to go play some volleyball first? There should be a net over there” Bixbite said pointing towards the rocky part of the beach towards the east. 

“Oh yeah that’s for Pearl’s Intramurals class” Angel piped up. 

“Well since class is over, it’s all ours” Bixbite said with a sly smile. 

“Oh wait guys I’m kinda hungry. I saw a pastry shop over there. I’ll meet you at the net!” Autumn said, waving as they left. 

They walked towards the shop labelled ‘Spacetries’ as the rest of them went towards the beach. Zebra was at the front of the group and practically gasped as her feet touched the sun-baked sand. The warm sensation spread through her body. Igniting her heart and forcing a smile on her face. 

Angel looked to her and noticed how she had stopped walking. “Is everything okay?” Angel asked. 

“O-oh yeah. The sand just feels...really nice” Zebra said, feeling some tears well up in her eye. The sand reminded her of a time long ago. A time when she still had her sight and could see the green sands of Ecliptica. 

“What color is this sand?” Zebra asked bending down to sink her hand in it and pull free a handful of grains. 

“Yellow. A golden yellow” Angel said, placing a hand on Zebra’s shoulder, “are you sure you're okay? I can see that you’re crying you know”

Zebra’s eye grew wide out of instinct. 

“Oh oh I’m sorry. No I’m okay, I’m just really happy”

Angel rubbed Zebra’s back as they started walking towards the net again. 

“I’m glad. I’m really happy too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again, oh great denizens of our lovely Earth for reading part one of a two/three part saga. I hope you enjoyed going through the perspective of Angel this time! Isn't she adorable?
> 
> Stay tuned for Part Two!!


	10. The Angel of Beach City (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello oh great denizens of Earth! Welcome back to Sweet Like Black Licorice! After an extended hiatus, I am proud to present Part 2 in the four part series entitled The Angel of Beach City! Please enjoy, and once again, thank you for reading!

With the soft ring of a bell, Autumn cautiously entered a boardwalk shop. Aimlessly attracted by the bright colors of the store front. At once, Autumn’s nose was graced by the smells of sugar icing, cinnamon, and freshly baked bread. Looking around Autumn was entranced by the interior. Inside was a baker’s wonderland. What caught Autumn’s attention most was the glass displays by the cash registered. The displays were filled with sugar cream cakes, jellied golden-crusted pastries, and hot glazed donuts. To Autumn’s right, a large space gem was pounding down some dough, kneading it with a machine-like precision. An apron was tired around their chest. On it was the logo of the shop which read ‘Spacetries.’ 

Looking at the cash register, Autumn stopped in their tracks. Behind the counter stood what looked to be a young man. They were leaned over, going over receipts from the store’s debit machine. Their hair was a light shade of pink, almost white in nature. His ears were stretched with two moon-shaped plugs in his ear lobes. He looked up at Autumn and gave a quick smile. Autumn couldn’t help themselves from blushing, thinking to themselves, ‘oh no he’s kinda hot.’ 

Approaching the glass counter, Autumn saw a circus of confectionaries. Tiny donuts as black as the night sky were what caught their eye first. Next to them was a small paper sign held up with a wire frame that said ‘Black Donut Holes’. Sitting next to these were small, cupcake sized, bright red cakes. Frosted with a pink-ish cream and sprinkled with dark crumblings. These were called Red Dwarf Velvet Cakes. Looking a bit more to the left, they found what they wanted. It was a donut. The yellow dough was hidden underneath a vanilla cream dip with a chocolate frosting drizzle. To add a touch of texture, the baker had added crunched up cookies on top. It was called the Milky Way Donut. 

As Autumn looked up, they met a pair of soft brown eyes, gazing at them patiently. Autumn could feel their heart thump in their chest, a restless feeling growing in their stomach threatened to make itself known. Autumn couldn’t help but stare into the gentle eyes. 

“What can I do for you?” they said, leaning forward, keeping a hand on the tablet used to make orders. 

“Uh, h-hi I’m donut, can I get an Autumn please?” Autumn stammered, immediately going red. 

A smirk appeared on his face and he let out a light chuckle. “You mean, you’re Autumn and you want a donut, right?”

“U-uh yeah” Autumn said, their right foot stepping back. Their lips quivered. 

“Which one?” they said, waving their arm towards the display case. 

Autumn could only point at it, trying not to make eye contact with him as he plucked a paper bag from a box, and carefully placed the donut inside. Autumn reached out for the bag and as they took it, their fingers touched. Autumn let out a small squeal, only loud enough for them and only them to hear. 

“So what’s a cutie like you doing here? I haven’t seen you around before” they said, leaning their arms on the counter, getting a little bit closer to Autumn. 

“I-I just got here! I go to Little Homeschool actually.”

“Oh you’re a gem?” they said looking them up and down, “you don’t look like one.”

“I could say the same for you. Aren’t you a gem? Why do you look so...human?”

“What do you mean I look like a gem?!” the boy bolted upright. His arms immediately crossed over his dusted apron. 

“Well you’re pink and-” Autumn tried to say. 

The boy slapped his face with his hand and let out a small sigh. “Right of course you’d think that. No, I'm a human. If you want the story you can ask Steven.”

“You mean Steven Universe?”

“Yes I mean Steven Universe, who else is named Steven in this town?” their voice raised in pitch at the end, they were seemingly annoyed. Autumn looked to the doorway. Besides the large space gem, they were the only other one in the store. 

“I’m sorry, I’m new here, I didn’t mean to upset you-” Autumn once again tried to explain. They were stopped by the boy raising his hand between them, dismissing what Autumn was trying to say. 

“No, no it’s okay. It’s just, this whole ‘pink thing’ is kinda new for me. Still trying to get used to it” they mumbled, running their hand through their hair. Autumn had to keep from gasping. It had the same kind of texture and bounce as their own hair. 

“O-oh” Autumn said in response, looking down at their feet. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean any offense. I didn’t even know that much about gems or what they looked like until I got here. I’m only half a gem, so I’m still trying to figure things out. I really didn’t mean to make fun of you or anything by pointing out your pink.”

“Oh jeez, oh look I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. Tell you what, take the donut on the house. Since you’re new here, how about you come by sometime this weekend, I’m training Blue Lace Agate over there to take over the shop so she can handle a few hours by herself. Maybe I can show you around?”

Autumn looked up, now beaming, “you really mean it?”

He giggled, “of course I mean it. I’m Lars by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Autumn.” 

“You already told me that.”

“O-oh right!” Autumn said, quickly turning around and heading for the exit, a haste in their heart to break free from the awkward air of the store “see ya later then!” 

“Yo Angel heads up!” Bixbite yelled as she spiked the volleyball through the air, barely grazing the net. Angel dove into the sand, barely managing to hit it back before it smacked the ground. The waves around them sloshed in an inaudible cheer. As if the ocean itself was watching. 

“Nice save!” Bixbite yelled from the otherside. 

“Well we’re only warming up! We gotta wait for Autumn to make teams! Not like I’m playing for points!” Angel said as she aggressively spiked the volleyball back to Bixbite. The ball slammed into the sand, blowing a cloud into the air. 

“Go Angel!” Zebra yelled from the sidelines. She was sitting in the sand, pushing her fingers inside the golden grains. A smile was plastered on her face. She’d never really gotten a chance to enjoy the beach before. Her and Angel had arrived during the winter and it was a rule that any planet she served on, the beaches were off limits. No free time for soldiers. 

Angel looked over at Zebra to give a quick smile. In the distance, crossing over the sand, she saw Autumn coming back -donut in hand. Their head was tilted down and their forehead was scrunched up in thought. When Angel went to look back, a volleyball smacked straight into her face, smushing her nose. 

“Sorry Angel! Pay attention next time” Bixbite said sarcastically. 

“Oh now you earned it!” Angel said, half-leaping as they served it far over their head. The ball landed just before the back line. 

“Point for me!”

“I thought you said we weren’t playing for points,” Bixbite whined as she half-carried herself to pick the volleyball up. 

“Hey guys!” Autumn yelled from the sidelines. Their voice was unusually unenthusiastic. 

“Hey what’s up?” Zebra said, patting the sand next to them. Autumn fell down with a quick sigh. 

“I met a guy at the pastry shop. I think he was hitting on me, but I made him upset and...not like I like the guy or anything, but that was the worst possible outcome.”

“Really?” Zebra said, her normal relaxed tone, straining as she formed the question.   
“Yeah. I mean he’s cute, but maybe it’s just because he’s pink.”

“He’s pink? Is he a gem?” Zebra asked, taking her hand out of the sands and slightly shifting away from Autumn. Zebra felt her heart start to pick up. 

“See?!” Autumn said, in an aggravated tone, “that’s what I thought.” Autumn took a bite of the donut. With their mouth full, they said “he’s a human.”

“Oh! Oh okay” Zebra said, sighing in relief. 

“You only like gems right? Cause you’re a gem?” Zebra asked quickly. 

“Well...I mean, yeah...but something about him was kind of...alluring?”

Zebra let out a muffled response. Their shoulders sunk slightly. 

Autumn put a hand in their hair and pulled on a fistful of their own locks in frustration. “It’s weird?! I dunno, I’m just upset that I made him upset. He took offense when I asked if he was a gem. He must not have good experiences with gems...and I’m a half-gem...so...I don’t really know what I’m trying to say here, but if he doesn’t like gems, he might not like me.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Zebra said back, half-hearted. 

Autumn perked up at this, looking over quickly at Zebra. 

“Hey are you okay? Is this topic bothering you?”

“No, no!” Zebra said, patting Autumn’s back reassuringly, “let’s just play some volleyball.” 

Autumn was about to protest, but Zebra flashed them a smile, and grabbed their arm, pulling Autumn up from their spot on the sand, and leading them over to the net.


	11. Fanfic Isn't Likely To Continue

Heya! It's been a few months since I last updated. Sorry about that! If I'm to be really honest, things have gotten insanely hectic in my life and on top of it all, I've been hit with a major depressive episode that has been hard to overcome. It's made even simple tasks extra hard so you can imagine why I haven't updated. Honestly, I'm still quite proud of this self-insert fanfic and the attention it's garnered. Sadly though despite how much I love it, because of how hard it is to get motivated, I won't be continuing the story. I hope you enjoyed what I was able to write and thank you so much for reading this little fanfic; your support has meant the world. 

Take care and be good,

-Autumn


End file.
